And one-third to john b



July 3, 1928.

R. D. STROUP BRAKE MECHANISM gnumni 01 July 3, 192s.

' 1,675,673 R. D. sTRoUP BRAKE MECHANI SM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept. 18, 192.3

Patented July 3, 1928. Ulll'il fil PATENT iilil.

ROBERT D. STROUP, OII MARFRANCE, WEST VIRGINA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THRD TO I. S. NELSON, OF LESLlE, WEST VIRGINIA, AND ONE-THBD TO JOHN B. LAING, OF LEWXSBURG, WEST 'VERGILNIA.

BRAKE MECHANISM.

Application filed September 18, 1923, Serial No. 663,360, Renewed May 3, 1928.

This invention relates to brake mechanism detailed description set forth below by `way 65 and more particulaiily to such mechanism oilz illu.. ration, in connection With which devvherein the brake is positively locked in scription the drawings show in Figure l, a operative position so that it cannot be replan vieu' oif the brakeoperating mechao leased by chance oi accident until such re` Riem; in Figure 2. a side elevation of the lease is desired by the engineer or other device; in Figure 3 an end view of the de- 60 operator. This application is a continuation vice; in Figure ll, a vertical sectional view in part oit my copendii'ig application Ser. No. through the center ol' the mechanism; in 653,751, tiled July 2^, i923. Figure 5, a detail partly in section of the re- .lo Attempts have been made in the prior art leasing and loc-king paivls after initial operto secure a positively locked brake. It has ation; in Figure 6, a detail partly in section 6 been Sought Primarily t@ insure positive oi' the releasing paivl in operative position; brakingl action Vto prevent for example run H1 Figure 7, a detail o'l an improved holding aivay trains due to vlnilure oilz air pressure bar; in Figure 8, a detail ol an improved or for other reasons. lt is obvious, for eizreleasing; rod; in Figure 9, the rocking dog;

ample that in tluid or electricallyv operated in Figure l0, a i'i'iodiiied releasing rod; and 7u brakes, it at any time there is a failure 1D Figures ll and l2 an improved locking ot the luid pressure or olf the electr `cmfpavvl.

rent, the brakes will cease functioning. l But it will be understood that the descrip- ,llien too when cars are shifted il'roin a train tion. and. drawilfsCS 31'@ i0 b@ mkel SbS llUS" to a siding, leakage ol air `will gradually tiltlve only, and not by way or limitation 7 unset an air brake so that a car standing SlilCe various changes and modifications may on ,L- gmd@ would um ,muy But H1@ devices be .made in the devices illustrated and de oi' the prior art referred to aliove, which scribed, by those skilled .in the ai't to which 25 have Sought to Owl-Come 1119,59 dif'eulties, they appci'tain without departing iroin the were themselves so con'iplicated and costly Spirit aud Scope ot the invention, 8U that they proved inoperative and inipraelu general 1t `will be seen that this inventicable. @ne oi the chiet reasons for this tion comprises exceedingly simple means for was that such prior art devices required positively locking and releasing brakes 30 double sets ot mechanism: one Yfor locking WliiCli may be applied lto brakes of all kinds brakes, and the @they for releasing them, whether operated n'ianually, electrically, or 8,; The changes thus required in such devices by iuld pressure, .'Ifor example air, steam, from-the brakes in use at present made the ctc. For purposes ot illufistration however Change Prolbtv@ the device is shown in use with air pressure 35 @noot the objects of this invention is to brakes. b

provide locking mechanism tor a brake in its iundan'iental aspect the invention 90 which will be positive and under the control SGS iol'thuleans operated by the existing air ot the engineer or other operator at all brake cylinder to lock the brake in operative times. Y position after it has been set, and 'means M, Another Object 0f @big invent-10U g t@ plus 'loi' releasing the locking mechanism also vide such locking` mechanism ot simple and ulilciutcd by the same cylinder. its a result 95 c'liieient construction. l it possible to make use oi practically the .fir Yfurther object ot' this invention is to present equipment on trains with but slight pi-Gvd@ Simple md @mamut releasing machs inodiiication. As set 'lorth above. this inven- 4f, anisin toi' the locked brake. tion may be applied to any type et brake,

A further object o'li this invention is to although it is illustrated with an air brake. loo elin'iinate the use oil retainers. But all that is required i-s that there shall be it. still further object off this invention a holding bar or its equivalent, which is is to vprovide such mechanism so that it operated by the brake operating mechanism so iiiayl be` applied to the brakes now in use iii its usual course ot operation. Thisbar is with a iniiiiiiiun'i replacement and consequent then locked by the locking means, and may 105 scrapping oit the old Working parts. be subsequently released by the releasing lther and further objects and advantages means. It is in'imaterial for the purposes ot' this invention will appear from the more oif the present invention Whether the lioldrgroove is made to receive the ing bar is operated by tluid pressure, electrically, or otherwise. lts application to any of these brakes will be obvious from the detailed description. Y

In l my eopending application referred to above, there is shown by way of illustration, the conventional brake cylinder l within which reciprocates the usual piston 2, actuating` piston rod 3, which ext-ends through the cylinder head ln this modification of vthe invention, the usual cylinder head is replaced by one similar to that shown in the drawings. This cylinder head t thus carries a small cylindrical member 5, through an opening in which thek piston rod 3 extends. Upon this chamber 5 there are two strips 7, 7 which may be made integral with the member '5, and preferably are so made, these strips acting to form a channel 8 within Which the holding bar reciprocates.

The holdingbar l0 carries a rack ll on its upper face which extends from the inner end of the bar for about half of its length although this exact distance is governed by other considerations, for example, by the requirements of the C. C. who require a certain minimum Ydistance of operation before brake action shall begin. On its out-er end 1li, the .barrlO carries a depending,y ear l5 provided with an aperture or opening throngh which opening the bra ie rod linlr 20 passes to the brake rod, and serves to transmit the motion from the piston rod to the brake rod, whereby the brake is operated. Due to the bifurcated ear 22 of theY link, by means of which it is connected to the brake rod, when the bar l() has advanced to its locked operative position, the linlr cannot move inwardly, but its movement in that direction is obviously limited by the ear 15. One side of the bar l0 is cut away to form a groove 2() which is'beveled at 21 to the side of the bar. This K releasing pawl described below.

A cover plate 30 serves to form a housing for the locking pawl t() and releasing pawl 50. Tfor this purpose it is provided with a vertically extending' hood 3l which has vertical sides 32 and 38 forming the channel within which the locking pawl 40 operates The side 35 is formed as shown at 34 to provide a. bearing` surface for the rocking* arm 73. v The remainder of theA channel within which the locking` pawl moves is formed by a block 35, provided on its upper face with the lower' half of thebearing surface for the rocking arm 73. In the preferred form, the block 35 is integra-l with the cylinder head L -The cylindrical member 5 of the cylinder head t carries an opening through which the bar l0 moves. The lower end of the channel referred to above is thus open to the bar 10 sothat the locking pawl tO may contact with the'upper face thereof.

This locking pawl 40 is cut away as at il to form an opening for purposes described below. rThe pawl is beveled at its lower end 42 so that it can coact with the teeth of the rack bar l0. At one side of the pawl, a longitudinal channel 4S is cut to receive the releasing pawl 50.

` rilhe releasing` pawl 5() is pivoted at 5l for transverse movement. in the channel 4:3, the arm 35 adjacent this pawl beingcut away as at 3G to allow such movement. rllhe pawl 50 has its lower end extended beyond the beveled edge of the locking` pawl ll0 to form an extension 52. The releasing pawl is spring pressed as shown at 54; so that in its normal position the releasing` pawl presses against the side 2l of the rack bar. in its operative position however, the pawl 50 rides in the groove 20 of the rack bar.

The rocking` arm 73 carries a lufr 74 rigidly attached thereto as at 75. rlfhis lug eX- tends within the opening' del adjacent to the upper part thereof, so that when the rocking,r arm is rocked conntercloclrwise on its bearings, the luga,- serves to raise the locking pawl in the licreinbefore described channel. In order to retain the lockingpawl in contact with the teeth of the holdingl bar 10, a block tlf held in place in any desired way is reposed against the action of a spring i-5, act ing between this block and the lower edge of the opening or passageway lil, serves to press the locking pawl down against the teeth of 'the bar l0. The springd5 may be retained in proper position by means of any ordinary securing devices, such as lug etti in the block and recess 4.7 in the lockingr pawl.

The end of the rocking arm 7 3 is adapted to receive a rigidly connected arm 77 which carries a dog' 78 pivoted for 'free clockwise movement only, to arm 77 as at 79. It moved eountercloclnvise it moves the arm 77.

Further there is also attached to the piston 2, a trip rod or releasing rod SO, formed at its outer end with an ear 8l, which is designed to ride against the dog 78, when the piston is operated so that the movement of: the piston carries the ear against the dog, trips the latter, which in turn causes the rocking arm to move and aetuate the locking` pawl.

Then the device has been assembled with the parts related as described above, it is ready for use and operates as follows. Vhen the engineer applies the brakes, the piston rod moves outwardly and by means of the brake rod the brakes are brought into operative position. At the same time. the piston moves against t-he inner end of the bar 10, carrying it out until. when the movement has been su'tiieient, the teeth of the rack engage the pawl Lit), which then locks the rack against inward movement. Now at this time regardless of what happens either to the air line, or within the cylinder, the brake rod is positively locked in position, so

that the brakes cannot be released until the engineer under whose control 'the entire mechanism is placed, desires to do so. ln this way it will be seen that although the air pressure in the line may vary, or decrease due to leakage, the brakes are positively locked so that the train cannot move until desired. In this connection attention :is called to the fact that under I. C. (l. spceilications, the brake rod, or piston rod, must move a minimum distance (about three and a halt inches) for leakage groove, betere the brake shall begin to operate. Advantage is taken of this :tact in the pre-sent invention as set forth above. The rack bar is not toothed thruout its entire length, but is left untoothed in that part of the rack bar that will ride under the locking` pawl duringy the travel of the piston through the distance referred to above. Consequently at this time when the brakes are being;1 set, the donf is tripped by the ear on the releasing;` arm S but since the racl; bar at 'thispoint is not toothed, the pawl, innnediately drops hach to its normal position, as does` the releasing llVhen the bra-kes are thus once set and locked as described above, the piston and piston rod may return to normal position and do so, under the action oit the spring, described above, the eur on the releasing;a arm 8O riding` under the dog without tripping it in this reverse n'iovement, that is without reciprocating;v the rocking arm due to the pivoted connection between the arm and 'the doe'.

Vihen however it is desired to release the brakes and allow them to cease their brak-- ing action, the engineer once more applies the brake but it is only necessary to move the piston a small distance, namely until the sliding' or releasing arm 8() thru the ear. trips the dog. In other words, regardless ol the pressure that has been used to the brakes, a minimum pressure only is required to release them. One to two pounds may be sutlieient. In this way a remarkable saving in air is effected. At this time, the lochinn` pawl is raised as described above. 'ifhe releasing pawl is thus raised until it rests in the groove S2() and due to the spring oel; it is maintained therein. In this position the releasing pawl prevents the locking` pawl trom dropping` into contact with the rael; of the holdingl bar 10. The locking pawl thus beingl held out of operative position. the bar l0 is free to move inwardly until it once more contacts with the piston, when in its normal position and remains there.` At the same time that the bar l0 travelling inwardly, the releasing paw] .is riding in the groove 2O until it reaches the beveled edge ot it when it then urged out of the groove and drops to its normal position allowing the locking pawl to drop down on to the upper face et the bar l0. The brakes However when a car is switched ott oll a' train or line ot cars, it is desirable to provide means whereby 'the brake may be released and restored by hand. This is accomplished as follows. 'lhere is attacher, to the tripping); arm T7 at a point preferably tar possible from its upper end, a chain or equivalent device 90 which is adapted to be wound up or pulled over bv a vertical hand brake stallM1 similar to that now in use on hand brakes. lt is obvious that when the element 90 is pulled over or wound up by operation ot a hand wheel etc., lthe rocking` arm T3 will be operated to release the lock ing pawl so that the brake rod may return to its normal posit-ion under the action ot the spring.

Vilhile most of the subject matter ein plained above is to be found in my copending application, the present application is more particularly concerned with certain improvement-s thereof which enable me to obtain unexpected results. Oli primary iniportance in this connection the bar l0 has been modified. In the earlier construction the groove ran 'from its starting point to the end of the bar l0. In the present niodilication` the groove extends tor only a portion of the distance oil' the rack, and terinitiates in beveled portion 22 which leads up to the side of the bar similar to the edge thereoi 2l. The advantages of this construction will be set 'torth below.

ln cmiiiection with the modiiied bar it has been found desiraliile to modiiy the ear oit Vthe release bar 80, although this nlodilication is not esissential as the moditied bar l() may lie used without any change in the bar Fill. Figures 8 and l() illustrate such a modi` lied bar 80. ln Figure tl, the ear 8l has been carried upwardly to lorm a well rounded edge 82 over which the den` 78 moves. The ear 8l., after 'termine' the edge S2 may drop down sharply to the edge dit the bar tl() as shown .in Figure 8 or it may be continued over to Ylorm an extension 83. lt will be obvious that either olf these moditications muy be used separately or they may both be used on the saine releasing bar.

The locking' pawl l4t() has been modilied as shown in lg'ures ll and l2. For example it has been found that due to the weight ol" the. parts when assembled, the spring' l5 with its attendant parts may be omitted. As a result 'this pawl is much simplitied and may take the term 40 provided with an opening Ll1 which receives the lug 74 of the rocking;l arm 73. This pawlmay terminate in a single beveled edge 4t2 as shown in the earlier type otl devices but it is preferably formed into several teeth 4t2 which serve tor a better srrip on the bar l0. The pawl Ll0 also carries the longitudinal channel t3 llO in which the releasing pawl 50 is pivoted thru the pivot openings 5l. The recess 54 forinsa seat 'for the spring 54 which presses against the upper end of the pawl 50.

rlhe operation of the modified mechanism is substantially similar to that described above, but due to certain of the modifications, results are possible with the improved device that are not possible with the old device.l For example, when the releasing p. pawlhas been brought into operative position ,as described above, it rides in the groove 20. New when it is desired to go into emergency position, and apply full pressure, the barplO will move outwardly. As thegroove rides under the pawl 50, the point 22 will be reached and ultimately the pawl 50 will be vurged out of the groove, and thus drop to its inoperative position as shown in Fig. 5. The brakes will thus be locked in their'set position.

If now it be desired toV release them, all that is necessary, is that sufficient pressure be applied to move the releasing arm 8O outwardly until the ear 8l trips the dog 78. When so tripped, the dog rocks the arm 73 and operates the pawl 40 lifting it out or contact witlithe bar l0.l As soon as this happens, the Vbar 10 may nieve inwardly, and although it is in this position for a relatively short time only, there is enough ,.throw on the brakes, to move the bar l0 time is increased within-which the pawl 40 is out of contact with the bar 10. In such cases the modified bar 8O is very desirable although not absolutely necessary.

At times it is desirable to use this invention withoutthe releasing pawl, and in such cases the latter may be easily eliminated. Such omission allows one todrop from a higher to alower pressure without first go- .ing through the releasing operation. rIhis result follows from the fact when the brakes have once been set and locked, when no releasing pawl is used, all that is necessary is that the engineer should move the brake to the pressure that he desires. As the ear 81 of the bar 8O passes the dog 78, the latter is tripped rocking the aim 73 and moving the pawl out of Contact Vwith the bar 10. At this time as just explained above, the throw.of the brakes will'tend to restore the parts totheir normal position. As soon however asthe brake rod and piston rod move back tothe point where the rack bar l0 has been locked, they cannot move further and are therefore locked at the lower pressure position.A

The cover plate 30 serves to protect the Working parts `against dirt etc., and may also be provided with oil cups etc. in order to lubricate the working parts.

Having thus set forth my invention, l claim:

l. Iii brake mechanism, a holding bar provided with al rack, a pawl engaging` said rack to lock said bai' againstmovement in. one direction, a groove in said bar extending for a portion of the length of said bar only, a releasing pawl carried by said lot-,liing pawl and adapted to rido in the groove aforesaid, and to control the engagement of the locking pawl with the rack of the holdingl bai.

2. Brake mechanism as set forth in claim l wherein means are provided for removingl said releasing` pawl out of said groove so that the locking pawl may reengage said rack,

In brake mechanism, a holding bar provided with a rack, and a groove in said bar extending over a. portion only of the length of said rack.

4. In brake mechanism including a tripping dog. an arm provided with an ear having an enlarged upper surface for engaging` said dog.

5. In brake mechanisin, a releasingl arm provided with an ear having an extension thereof, to prolong its working surface.

G. In brake mechanism, a holding bar provided with a rack over a portion of one face of said bar, a. groove in said bar extending for a portion only of the length of said rack, a locking pawl adapted to engage the rack of said bar, means for moving said locking pawl out of engagement with said rack, said means comprising a releasing arm provided with an extended ear.

7. In brake mechanism, a locking pawl provided with a. toothed engagement face, and a releasing pawl carried by said locking pawl.

8. In brake mechanism, a holdingbar, means for locking said bar against movement in one direct-ion, means for releasing said locking means. and means vfor length! ening the time during which the locking means is released.

9. In brake mechanism, means for holding the brake in set position, means for loching said holding means, means for releasing said locking means, and means for lengthening the time during which the locking` means is tentatively released.

10. In brake mechanism, a holding bar provided with a rack over a portion of one face of said bar, a groove in said bar extending for a portion only of the length of said rack, a locking pawl adapted to engage, the rack ofsaid bar, and means for releasing the locking means.

Signed at Marfrance, this 15th day of September, 1923.

ROBERT D. STROUP. 

